New soccer field at Aptos High stalled by county: Field subject to environmental review and other requirements

APTOS -- A new grass soccer field at Aptos High was expected to be ready for play when school started in August.

Members of the Aptos High School Sports Foundation were told by county officials months ago that they could construct a sports field on an empty lot at the school entrance off Freedom Boulevard without permits.

The project proceeded without county oversight until complaints from several nearby Freedom Boulevard residents -- led by Kim Tschantz, a retired Santa Cruz County planner -- prompted county officials to examine the field plans and determine a grading permit and review for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act are required.

County planning officials red-tagged the school property in July, prohibiting further work until the Pajaro Valley Unified School District completes the county permit process, including a soils report and approval from the Planning Commission.

News of the county requirements came as the field was just weeks from completion.

"At best, we're talking a year from now," said Brett McFadden, chief business officer for the school district. "Our frustration in this case is we knew we had a very tight window to help the Aptos Sports Foundation. Kids ought to be playing on the field right now."

McFadden estimated it would cost the district more than $35,000 to complete the county permit process.

Tschantz says he's not opposed to the field. However, he says several issues need to be studied and mitigated before the field is built, including noise, traffic and wildlife.

"No. 1, they should have to do an environmental review like everyone else in the county would do," Tschantz said. "And ongoing noise from the use of the facility, the big noise comes from parents on the sidelines.

"Just because you're a school district doesn't absolve you from mitigating your impacts."

The Aptos Sports Foundation, a volunteer group that raises money for the school's athletic teams, partnered with RGW Construction, the contractor building the new lanes on Highway 1 between Soquel and Morrissey, to have dirt from the highway project delivered to the school.

The contractor also performed compaction and grading work at no cost to the district. McFadden estimated RGW saved the district around $600,000.

The foundation raised about $60,000 for other field-related expenses such as the grass, fencing and irrigation.

District officials were told by county planning officials and Supervisor Ellen Pirie, when the project started in March, that the county would not be involved because often public schools are exempt from local oversight.

County building official Tony Falcone wrote Planning Director Kathy Previsich an email on March 27, saying "we have no jurisdiction on the school property."

According to district officials and members of the sports foundation, Tschantz, who lives across the street from Aptos High, began raising concerns with noise, security, landscaping and possible endangered species near the site.

District officials and sports foundation members had meetings with Tschantz and other neighbors this summer to try to find common ground.

"We agreed to add some landscaping and move the school's gate. We were trying to compromise," said Paul Bailey of the Aptos Sports Foundation. "All I want to do is put a sprinkler system in and plant grass. We're just stuck waiting."

Pirie said the field debacle is simply a case of misinformation from the county early in the process. She admits the project has turned into something more tedious and time-consuming than anyone anticipated.

The county has the authority to oversee the field because of its size, involving more than 27,000 cubic yards of dirt.

"We would love to say 'everything's fine,' but we can't waive the law," Pirie said. "I'm guilty of passing that misinformation on. No doubt, the project is bigger than they imagined."